10 Players the 49ers Should Watch for 2018 NFL Free Agency
By Peter Panacy
No. 7: Linebacker David Harris
2017 Team: New York Jets
Here’s an out-of-the-box thought — targeting New York Jets linebacker David Harris.
Sure, Harris will be 34 years old when free agency kicks off in 2018. And that’s not ideally the age a team would want a linebacker to be at, especially the rebuilding 49ers.
But hear me out.
Harris has remained more than productive, even on the wrong side of 30. He’s missed just one regular-season game dating back to 2009 and still led the Jets in tackles last season (62).
The 6-foot-2 linebacker offers nothing in the pass rush. Those days are behind him. But he’s still solid against the run and has excellent coverage skills — an 80.2 pass-coverage grade last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
One should expect some drop off this season and surely in 2018. But the veteran savvy and poise still make Harris a reasonable depth option to reinforce a questionable linebacker corps in San Francisco.